Hearing her thoughts… and then her actual response—
The difference was like heaven and earth.
Which is funny, because I never believed in either.
To avoid making things worse, I kept my head down.
My whole body trembled.
Not from fear—no, fear I understood.
This was something else.
A tension with no name. A ghost weight. Something borrowed from someone else's nightmare.
I was never a good person. I'm not pretending to be one now.
I've seen things. Done worse.
Died once, too—at twenty-four, to be exact.
Not metaphorically. Not in a poetic "rebirth" kind of way. Literally. Heart stopped. Lungs collapsed. Lights out.
People think they understand the underworld.
Gangs. Yakuza. Syndicates.
They watch a few movies and think they get it.
They don't.
I didn't just walk through darkness—I lived in it.
Slept in it. Breathed it.
Became fluent in silence and violence.
Yeah, I had an aura. Cold. Heavy.
The kind that made people shut up when I walked into a room.
Not out of respect. Out of instinct. The same instinct that tells prey to freeze.
But this?
This awkward, burning normalcy?
I had no defense against it.
Turns out, small talk is deadlier than a blade to the gut.
Even after learning to control my breath, my mind, my emotions—
After spending months wandering India and Kathmandu,
chasing philosophies older than civilizations—
nothing prepared me for this kind of battlefield.
Forget it. Focus.
I straightened up. Cleared my throat.
"Excuse me, my lady. I have something I—"
"Say it."
Sana looked at me, crimson eyes cutting straight through.
This time, I felt the coldness.
Not the kind that kills.
The kind that peels back your skin and stares at what's underneath.
I wanted to disappear.
Just melt into the shadows and never be seen again.
But before I could even take a step—
That voice.
Cold. Commanding.
Yet somehow… laced with sweetness.
Like a blade wrapped in silk.
"In case any of you forgot—everyone has chosen their weapons."
Instructor Aurelia's voice rang across the hall like steel on stone.
She stood at the far end, eyes sharp as a falcon's.
"This is your final choice," she continued.
"As your instructor, it's my duty to make sure you don't just wield your weapon—you become the weapon itself.
In the moment between life and death, when a split second decides your fate—
your weapon must be your second soul. As if you were born with it."
Her clenched fist trembled slightly as she spoke that last line.
Only a few noticed.
But I was one of them, and I was the only person who understood this gesture.
That subtle crack in her composure—
It was a scar not yet healed.
The 7th Forbidden Dungeon.
She lost someone there.
Her fiancé—slain by a demon because she hesitated.
Because she couldn't deliver the final blow.
She's been chasing redemption ever since.
And maybe—
just maybe—
she's trying to forge that redemption through us.
What a life she has, huh.
---
Outside the Aegis Wing. Near the Teleportation Platform.
All cadets gathered after weapon selection.
It was time for the practical test.
A performance-based trial that would determine our class rankings.
More importantly, it would show how we really fought—
unscripted, raw, under pressure.
Naked, in a way armor can't hide.
I adjusted the training gear given by the academy.
The kind that absorbed damage, but didn't dull the pain.
Staff stood by to prevent lethal injuries—but only just this much.
Because pain, apparently, builds character. huh
Joke aside
My eyes still stung from embarrassment.
But my heart… it was locking into focus.
This was a new world now.
Time to play my role.
No. Screw that.
I'm not here to be an extra.
Let's get a top rank—
Not for glory. Not for pride.
So I can stay close to them.
So I can keep an eye on that emo bastard—
and the other main characters.
Dorms were assigned by class rank.
And I refuse to be left behind.
"You were about to say something before."
Sana's cold voice whispered from behind me.
What the hell is wrong with her?
Scared me for a sec. How come my senses didn't notice her?
I have to train harder to survive in this world.
"My lady, please give me a warning before doing something like that. And what do you want now?"
I really can't understand her.
As a loyal reader of No Happy Ending in the 999th Regression,
I liked this character…
But seeing her here in front of me,
She feels different.
Just slightly—but enough to notice.
Almost like she's not exactly the same person from the novel.
"Call me Sana. You don't need to be formal here," she said.
"And tell me—why were you looking at me with those sympathetic eyes?
You think I wouldn't notice? Say it."
Her tone changed—suddenly fluid, suddenly freezing.
That last word… it could've frozen lava.
Shit.
How is she so observant?
Oh wait. Right.
[Statistics:]
Strength: 18 | Stamina: 16 | Speed: 19
Perception: 23 | Health: 20 | Magic Power: 18
Perseverance: 48 | Luck: 49 | Charm: 86
Yeah, her perception was nearing D-rank.
Reading expressions? Child's play.
This is my fault—for not controlling my emotions better.
What do I say now?
"It's nothing, my lady. Forgive me if I seemed rude—perhaps you're mistaken."
I've never spoken so formally in my life.
Thank god I read too many novels, manga, and anime.
Didn't expect that knowledge to actually save me here.
If only I had memories of this body's past…
---
"Everyone, gather when your group is announced," Instructor Aurelia called.
Group 1 – Cale Ashblood, Riya Ashami, Serin Voss, Eris Moonlight.
Group 2 – Rayne Valestorm, Lyra Evergreen, Ronan Vale, Sana Althea.
...
Group 50 – Lucifer, Elara Thalen, Elin Frost, Aren Frostmere.
What kind of cursed matchmaking is this?!
Where the hell are the humans in my group?
Let me check…
Elara Thalen.
Princess of Sylvanthar—the Elven Domain.
Fuck my life.
Is the goddess of luck trying to force me to hang out with a royalty from a foreign empire?
Elin Frost and Aren Frostmere—both demi-humans. Wolf race.
I made up my mind right there—
Stay away from the Elven princess.
No matter how curious I am.
I value my life.
And I really don't want to remember her backstory.
But—
Shit. Shit. This can't be happening.
In this practical exam, she'll be injured—
Badly and this his will Awaken somthing sleeping inside her
Because she's not just Elara Thalen.
She's also known as…
Sylvanna Nightshade.
The 68th-ranked demon of the Outside.
She's been on this planet for centuries.
And judging by how she passed the Gate of Fate…
She must've sealed herself inside Elara Thalen.
She was my prime candidate for ignoring like a plague.
I really didn't want to meet her—
Talking is an even different matter.
Even in the class, I didn't want to talk about her.
Now this is getting seriously messed up.
She's not just in my team—
She's right beside me.
And how in the world can I get the top ranking without letting her know about me?
What the hell have I gotten myself into?
---
[[ Author's Note:
If you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a comment and a Power Stone! Your support means a lot to me.]]